Wednesday, July 16, 2008

LSC Alums facing off in Arena Bowl XXII

Former Texas A&M-Kingsville stars Eddie Moten and Brent Holmes and their Philadelphia Soul teammates have advanced to Arena Bowl XXII in New Orleans on Sunday, July 27.

Moten intercepted two passes and had a team high 10.5 tackles while Holmes caught five passes for 57 yards and three touchdowns as the Soul crushed the Cleveland Gladiators in the AFL semifinals 70-35.

Moten, who was named second team All-Arena, leads all AFL players in tackles (23.5) and interceptions (3) during the 2008 AFL playoffs. He now has nine interceptions for the entire 2008 season.

Holmes has caught nine passes for 96 yards and four touchdowns in two playoff games. Playing for his third team in 2008, Holmes now has 78 passes for 830 yards and 15 touchdowns.

The Soul, who’s owner partnership includes John Bon Jovi and Ron Jaworski, are making their first ever Arena Bowl appearance and will face defending champion San Jose. The game will be nationally televised at 2:00 p.m. by ABC.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (July 14) – A former Central Oklahoma All-American has helped lead his team to the Arena Football League championship game in New Orleans.

Place-kicker A.J. Haglund made 9-of-10 extra points and two field goals in San Jose’s 81-55 rout of Grand Rapids in the American Conference finals last weekend, with the defending champion SaberCats set to take on Philadelphia in ArenaBowl XXII on July 27. He's made all three field goal tries and 16-of-19 PATs in two playoff wins.

Haglund, who was named AFL Kicker of the Year earlier this month, has scored a league-record 204 points this season. He’s hit 24-of-28 field goals and 132-of-143 extra points while also making 18.0 special teams tackles for San Jose, 13-5 on the year.

A native of El Reno, Haglund was UCO’s place-kicker for four straight years from 2001-04 and was a two-time first-team All-Lone Star Conference pick who earned All-America honors as a senior. He set school records for field goals made in a game (five), season (15) and career (40) and PATs (139) in a career while finishing second in career points (259).

Haglund started his professional career for the arenafootball2 team in Oklahoma City and is in his second season with the SaberCats.